Our website uses cookies to improve your user experience. If you continue browsing, we assume that you consent to our use of cookies. More information can be found in our Cookies Policy and Privacy
Policy.

Brands should be fired up by Apprentice app task

The Apprentice. Alan Sugar’s bi-annual marketing campaign for Viglen that convinces every office worker out there that if these bunch of idiots can do it, then maybe they could be Sir/Big/Lord Al’s next big thing too.

This week’s episode saw the newest recruit of hapless wannabes battle it out to create the most popular international mobile application – App-prentices if you will.

The boys’ app, Slangatang (a name only a moron would…oh…), was a “funny” crowdsourcing soundboard that allows users to listen to different regional dialects from around Britain. The girls opted for irritating ringtones (seemingly having never heard of the Crazy Frog).

There is not a day that goes by that Marketing Week is not informed of a new branded app entering the market and not all warrant a mention. Some brands could learn valuable lessons by rewatching this week’s episode.

While the App-prentices’ (I’m running with this one) task was more akin to a start-up tech developer’s job description, the two teams also had to decide on and perform the vital marketing elements brands are tasked with for their app propositions too.

There have been countless occasions where brands have contacted Marketing Week with “new”, “innovative”, “engaging” apps that were obviously developed with the sole purpose of ticking the “app” box on the digital campaign to-do list, with little extra thought assigned to them.

Unless a brand is naturally aligned with a technology audience, it needs to work hard to make its voice heard in what is an extremely crowded app market. Gartner predicts there will be 185 billion applications downloaded by 2014.

An app should be considered in just as much detail as a TV campaign, despite the fact that it doesn’t cost as much. A TV campaign lasts but a few weeks (minus any YouTube capture), whereas an app can be an ambassador for your brand for much, much longer as it sits on the virtual shelves of the app stores.

The apps themselves need to balance firmly in the middle of the wobbling tightrope between being useful and entertaining. Entertaining apps tend to deliver big spikes in downloads and customer engagement but longevity is sparse. Useful apps may last longer but need to be continually tweaked.

To paraphrase the infamous ex-Apprentice contestant Stuart Baggs, apps can’t be one trick ponies, they have to be a whole field of ponies.

He adds: “The one thing [the teams] did get right was offering the apps for free and then building in in-app monetisation. This is by far the most successful strategy for launching a new app – free content is king when it comes to apps, even Sir Alan would agree with that.”

The episode also highlighted the importance of the app description. The girls’ straight to the point, yet slightly dull, description fared better than the boys’ vague effort. Brands should think of product descriptions almost as the app’s packaging: there’s no use in clever puns if it doesn’t explain what the item actually does.

The would-be Sir Alan dogsbodies’ hopeless attempt at the app task drilled home that apps cannot just be conjured up on a whim, then built to fit an audience. The customer need must be identified first.

Apps are more than a tickbox, they can be integral to building a brand and customer loyalty. Brands such as Lynx and Tesco have proved that apps provide more than just the novelty factor.

As Lord Sugar explained in his inimitable Cockney vernacular: “Business-wise right now, this is pretty much where it’s at.”

Featured Recruiters

Latest from Marketing Week

Filmed at the first meeting of the School of Marketing’s Founding 50 last month, five young ambassadors discuss their plans to take the message nationwide and what they have learnt from their personal journeys about finding a career which fits their skills.

Marriott has spent more than two years on the launch of its new loyalty programme Marriott Bonvoy as it looks to align the more than 30 brands in its offering and get people considering one of its hotels more often.

Already a member?

Password recovery

Register and receive the best content from the only UK title 100% dedicated to serving marketers' needs.

We’ll ask you just a few questions about what you do and where you work. The more we know about our visitors, the better and more relevant content we can provide for them. And, yes, knowing our audience better helps us find commercial partners too. Don't worry, we won't share your information with other parties, unless you give us permission to do so.

THE BEST CONTENT

Our award winning editorial team (PPA Digital Brand of the Year) ask the big questions about the biggest issues on everything from strategy through to execution to help you navigate the fast moving modern marketing landscape.

THE BIGGEST ISSUES

From the opportunities and challenges of emerging technology to the need for greater effectiveness, from the challenge of measurement to building a marketing team fit for the future, we are your guide.

PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Information, inspiration and advice from the marketing world and beyond that will help you develop as a marketer and as a leader.

Type anything and hit “enter”

Password recovery

Not registered yet?

Register and receive the best content from the only UK title 100% dedicated to serving marketers' needs.

We’ll ask you just a few questions about what you do and where you work. The more we know about our visitors, the better and more relevant content we can provide for them. And, yes, knowing our audience better helps us find commercial partners too. Don't worry, we won't share your information with other parties, unless you give us permission to do so.